Apparatus for building concrete structures



May 29, 1923. 1,457,090

H. G. SELLMAN APPARATUS FOR BUILDING CONCRETE STRUCTURES Filed Jan. 29, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet l @HIC/www4 May 29, 1923. 1,457,090 H. G. SELLMAN `APPARATUS FOR BUILDING CONCRETE STRUCTURES Filed Jan. 29, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 29, 1923. 1,457,090

H. G. SELLMAN APPARATUS FOR BUILDING CONCRETE STRUCTURES Filed Jan. 29, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 lil-lll May 29, 1923. 1,457,090

H. G. SELLMAN APPARATUS FOR BUILDING CONCRETE STRUCTURES Filed Jan. 29, 1920 4 sheets-sheet 4 @SEV/70% ../1/

Patented May 29, 1923.

7 UNITE sir Tas@ HENRY G. sELLi/ian, onniirnorr, MICHIGAN;

APPARATUS non'y B UrLnrne oo-Nnnrrn s'rnpcrunus.

Application filed January 29, :Serial No. 354;,8133.v y

residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for,v Building Concrete Structures7L of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawllgs- Y This inventi'onrelates to an'apparatus for the progressive, erection of symmetrical structures and its object isto so construct and arrange such an apparatus as to greatly facilitate the work by making the apparatus readily adjustable to the Work in' hand and for the progressive raising of the apparatus during the building operation. Afurther object isto provide such an apparatus'with an adjustable scaffold and with means for the" delivery and distribution of building material, and with suitable means for sus.

pending and raising wall mold sections.y lt is also an object'to provide 'certain other new and useful features in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts all as hereinafter more fully described. y

,lilith the above and other ends 'in view, the invention consists in the matters herein-y after set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims7 reference being had to y the accompanying drawings in Whichi Figure l-is a transverse vertical section through an apparatus embodying the in- Vention and illustrating itsapplication in use; p i v Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. is a perspective view of a distributing hopper; e

Fig. i is a. detail view ofairotatable-guide ring showing parts in'section to more clearly disclose the construction;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of a supporting `sleeve showing the same applied toa mask and in 'transverse vertical section;

Fig. 6 is a detailview of an upper rsupporting sleeveV upon a mast and illustrating the manner of raising and applyingaddif tional sections to the mast; A

Fig. 7 isa perspective detail of an extensible supporting armigand I i Fig. 8 is a side elevation of theapparatus illustrating vits application for use in building other,l than cement structures. y

In Figsfl and2 ofthe drawings the ap.-

insmee 7 paratus is illustrated as applied tothe i ing kof ycementor concrete structures of circular foring'but it will 'be understoddfthat the y same-.may be used wherever applicable in the building of structures from `other inatej rials such asbrick or of structures having other; symmetricalforms', and while a spe-Q cifre construction of' apparatus and detailed I construction [and arrangement o f parts has beeny slviown,I 1t will be, understood' that the same is merely illustrative ofthe invention and is susceptibleof 'changes which .arecnf i tempi-ated as falling within ythe scope ofthe appended claims. y 'y To build a wall, sucli as the circular wall of a silo,' grain elevator, or stack, fromv cecrete dumpedand as the wall thus formed becomes self-sustaining, to remove the lower mold sections `therefrom and place them y nient, concrete, orthe like', it is necessary 'tQ pro`v1def forms ory molds into whichthe'con#v above the mold sections ,I vecently"filled,V thus i progressively building Iup the'wall by alternating the molds. It therefore becomes necessary to provide suitable means for sup:

porting these' expandingv outer and'contracting inner mold sections inv place and raising the same from time to time as the werkprogresses,` `Further7` itis desirable to provide a suitable platform or yscaffeld for theworlrmen which may be readilyfraised in a like manner and that such scaffold be cjcirried'A and supportedby the saine supporting and raisingineans whi'cliis 'employed in manipulating the molds 11n order to cheapen theapparatus and facilitate the work. In order A i i to further'facilitatefthe work of vbuilding concretestructures, it is desirable that means v be provided for theready distrilnition fof material'andthat'such means be arranged to operate in conjunetionwith. the supporting rected in such distribution and the, whole comprise av complete operative apparatusfor carrying outthe several steps `andhfwor 0f this chara cter.

facilitating the work structures scories 'molds arefllstrated ceilrrijsea sheet 'metaluvalls l'which are' properly curved to together form between thi-3m' ak cirmeans to the yend that it be guided and di* `ico i I cular concrete wallgsaiduwall sections beingv 'i strengthened by channel and angle bars .and 3 secured along their upper .and lower@ and ,side respectively; lout andersom 'that .any Suitable nel@ tion may be employed, said mold forming no part of the present invention. In building a structure of considerable height, such as a silo, grain elevator, stack or other similar structure, these molds are placed in super-I posed relation and in vertical alignment to form, in a progressive manner, a continuous wall of the desired height and these molds may have a forni which will produce an up,- wardly tapering wall, if vfound desirable. Any suitable means,l such as rods l may be provided to engage openings in the flanges of the channel bars'Z for detachablyholdingr thev mold sections in vertical alignment, and any suitable means (not shown) may be provided i'or detachably holding together the abutting ends of the several sections comprising each mold.

The apparatus embodying the invention comprises asectional hollow mast indicated as a whole at 5 and consisting of a plurality of sections, one end 6 of each oli vwhich is reduced in diameter and externally screwthreaded to engage the internally screwthreaded end of an adjacent section, thus providing an externally smooth continuous hollow mast which may be set up at the axis oli the structure to be built and as the work progresses, additional vsections may be added to increase the height of the mast beyond the top of the wall being built,- Free to slide upon this mast is a pair ot sleeves and 8 which sleeves are spaced apart and held in spaced relation by tie rods 9 engaging openings in flanges. 10 and 11 on the sleeves near their adjacent ends and rigidly held by amb nuts on the screw-threaded ends ot the rods. The mast sections are each pro vided with a series of transverse holes 12 to receive bolts or pins 13, one being inserted through the mast beneath the lower end ot each sleeve to prevent the sleeves from sliding down on the Each bolt 13 is pre1 vided with a nut at each en d or a head at one end and a nut at the other to hold the bolt in place and permit of its ready removal, each nut or nut and head being in the 'form of a hook 14 as shown in. Fig. 5 to provide a ready place of attachment for suitable tackle (not shown) blocks of which may be attached to hooks adjacent the lower end ot the upper sleeve 8 and the other blocks attached in any convenient manner to the lower sleeve, so that by means of this tackle the connected sleeves and apparatus supported thereby, may beY raised, sliding,` upon the mast, and the bolts then engaged with other holes higher up on the mast to securely hold. the sleeves in adjusted position.

'Each supporting sleeve is also formed with a wide annular ilange 15 intermediatek y, itsfends andwith a' parallel flange 16 of lesser width spaced a short distance from` and above the flange 15, and each of these flanges is formed with a rib at its outer edg y the rib 17 on the flanges 15 yextending upwardly and the rib 18 on the flange 16 extending downwardly to 'form bearing sur laces on-said flanges 15 to engage the ends of supportingl arms 19 and 2O placed between them and extending radially out` ward from the sleeves. These arms are preferably channel iron bars placed with their channels opening upwardly, the armsv 19 Veingot such a length that they will extend outwardly to .near the inner mold wall 1 within the mold and lior'm supports for a scaliold which is made of a plurality of formed sections 21 each having hoolrs 22 at each end to engage over the flanges of the channel arms and hold thesca'li'old sections in place. A circular platform or scaffold is thus supported by the mast within the upper mold and carried lby the sleeve 7 to be raised. or lowered therewith. To brace and strengthen the arms 19, brace rods 23 having turn-buckles 24E are detachably attached at one end to said arms by 'forming hooks on the ends of the rods t'o engage pinsV 25 extending across the channels of the arms, andthe hoolrs of the opposite or upper ends of the rods are engaged with suitable ears Q6 secured to the flange 11 on the sleeve 8 by means of the tie-rods 9 passing therethrough.r-

rlhe supporting arms 2O are preferably or 'greater length than the arms 19 so that they will extend outwardly over and at a considerable distance above the upper end ol' thev wall being formed to provide supports for other purposes hereinafter described, there being one or more of these arms according to the purpose for which they are to be used, and these arms are braced and carried by rods 60 yhaving turnbuclrles 27, the lower ends of said rods being attached to the arms in the same manner in which the rods 23' are detachably connected to the arms 19, and the upper ends of `said rods 60 being formed with` hooks toA detachably engage over lan edge liangeV of a collar 28 on the mast, which/collar is' spaced from and rigidly held at a considerable distance above the upper end of the upper sleeve 8 by tie rods 29 secured at one end to the collar and at their opposite ends to the flange 61 on the sleeve 8.

The arms 19 or 2O may be made eXtensible as shown in Fig. 7, iii found desirable by making 4each arm of two channel members, one to telescope within the vchannel of the other and adjustably securing the two parts together in any suitable manner as 'by y a clamp 30 and a bolt 31 carried by the outer member and passing through slots in the inner member. The arms may thusl be lengthened or shortened accordingto the dameter oi the structure which is beine built.

When the apparatus is employed in the building of concrete structures as shown 1n 1 and 2, one of the arms 2O may be employed as a support tor suitable hoisting mechanism,such'as blocks and tackle indi#y asby bars 35 having loops 36 at tlieir'fupper ends to receive the ends of vthe aiins,' thusl providing' an interior scaffold 2l and an exf` terior 'scaffold 34, to facilitate building a circular brick'wall having'any desired lheight and thickness.

' ln the building of concrete or other walls. the bucket 33 is preferably hung in afbail 37 to swing thereon andthe side of the bucket is piovided with a hook 38 to engage. a bail 39 upon a hopper 40 which is positioned upon the top of the mold Walls l to travel thereon. said'hopper being set Within a suit-able rectangular trame 41 which is provided with rollers 42 one at each end, said rollers being of'a length to restupon the upper channel bars `2` of the mold'and t-ravel thereon. The-bucket is also provided with ahinged bottom 43 made of two parts pivotally connected at 44 to the side edges of thebottoin of the hopper; The bottom 43 is normally heldinclosed position by means of a lever 45 pivoted `to the lends of the hopper and connected .intermediate its ends by links 46'with the hinged portionsof the bottom. The tivo' levers 45 at opposite ends of the hopper are connected by a cross-bar 47 and upon the ends of the hopper are lugs or catches 4S to engage beneath the levers 45 and hold the bottom in closed position.A f

The bucket 33 is drawn up by means of the tackle 32 and as it comes opposite the hopper. the hook 38 engages the bail 39 and further upward movement of the bucket will `cause it to be tilted and dump automatically into the hopper. After it has been so dumped it is lowered and then -the hopper maybe moved manually alongthc top ot the mold to the 'position where it desired to dump the concrete` The operator then disengages the levers 45 from the hooks oi"- lngfs 48 and permits the' contents' tlieliopper to be discharged directly int'othe mold, the lower end of the hopper preferably exftendingr downward into the. top' or the mold a short distance. l

To prevent vaccidental disengagement ot the hopper carrier Jfrom its track' or upper end oi the mold. and to vtQuide it in its tra-vel around this circular track, an' armor shaft 49 is rigidly secured to the carrier frame 4l transversely thereof and extends inwardly therefrom.

Asecond guide rod or arm 50 is attached to the inner end ot the arm 49 by means of a I suitable slip joint connection indicated at 5l comprisingr two pla-tes bolted together-anc. formed with bearing sockets for the two arms 49` and 150 whichfexte'ndatan yangle .to each i other.Y The 'armsfmay thus befadjusted reli ativelywvithin' the connection 51 by 'loosening the bolts connecting the two plates and sliding" either rod endwise throughits socketthere# in, and then tightening the bolts to-'clamp' tlierods firmly between .the plates. The Vrod,

5() is rigidly attached in any suitable v:man-'ner at itsv upper vend to a ring 52 vwhich is tree to rotate Withina channel-shaped vguidering 53, suitable 'anti-friction rollers V54'hbeing in#V terposed between the-ringand guide so that v the Vring Will turn freely. lThe channel shaped guide 53 lis secured to the upper i y sleeve 8 concentrically' thereof` by means; of

arms secured f to the flange 11' on. the.

sleeve and to the inner 'side of the guide53. Theicarrying frame 41 'for tliehop'per 40i is thus yconnected by the rigid'adjustable .arms v49 and 50 Withthe ring 52s`o that.. the frame is held at a fixed'distanc'e from the axis of the' mast and asthe hopperi"spushed" along the top of the mold,l it is guided inits circular path about tlieaxisof the inast'by this rigidconnection but vis not impeded'. in

'its travel because of themanner in whichA the ring 52 to 'Which it connected .is

mounted. i

By this, Cnam-iai@ uit wei-gin. si' awp; vparatus is carried bythe sleeves 7. 8; which vare 'freeto slide upon theholloxv mast and the entire. structure 'may th'usy -bereadily raised or lowered at anytinie by means'fof suitable tackle and adjusted upon'the ina'st loo by removing the pins 13 and placing'thlein in other. openings provided therefor in' the mast, saidv pins also affording placel of attachment orthetackle to the mast. 'Tlie radial arms 19 are c'airiiecly by and readily deitachable from thesleeve 7 andiajfford a Yrigid 1 support for Athe scaffold r2l-` upon which the! vvorkm'ei'i may's'taiid and `which itoi'msfa suitable platform jloif carrying` i'n'at'eifial; 4

' ln'raisiiigr'or' li'iw'erinfj'the apparatus, the scaffold structure moves tlfi'e'revvith' but by reason of the'kno'ck-don'ln coi'istrnctiom it mayv be vquickly renioved oip'pd'evltaclietl at time.' y .i

` In a like inani'ie'rthe upper sleeve 3' forms suitable. support ,rthe arms zowhich are f securely and -detachavb-ly connected thereto in the same manner in-'wheh the arme' i9l are carried bythe sleeve 7 "'Thesevarins20' are thus 'carried byfan'd i'i'iovablewitli the appavi120 vable spars'stortlie 'support of hoisting' appan f ratus itis raised or loweredand yform suit;

ifatns', scaffolding or other devices.

To facilitate" the raising;` 'of additional i mast sections and attaching vtheinto vthe upperA end of 'the mast 5 as the vvorl'r proy lgVigiresses; 'a suitable spar 56, `shown in Fig.'

6 of the drawing is provided. lThis spar-is 'i provided with" a pin at its lower end :to

lengagein anopeninp; in Athelante 6l` on the upperl sleeve and is also' :provided .With .a

may be hoisted to position with its lower end above the collar and then lowered into the collar and said end screwed intol the upper end of the upper section of' the mast.

An apparatus is thus provided which is simple in construction and readily available for adjustment lfor building tall structures and it is also so constructed as to be adaptable Jfor use in building structures of various sizes and from any desired material, it being adaptable for use in manipulating the molds for a concrete wall as well as forming a rigid support for all ot several devices necessary in building structures of this character. The apparatus is also so constructed that it may be veryl readily taken apart for transport from place to place and may be quickly set up for use, the mast being formed of detachable sections orp convenient length to provide the main support for the apparatus which may be increased in length as the work progresses to provide a mast of suficient length for supporting the apparatus for building a structure of any desired hei ht. f

, bviously, changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts, size, proportion or form thereof within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention and I do not therefore limit myself to the particular construction shown.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim is l. In an apparatus of the character described, vthe combination of a supporting mast, a member sleeved upon the mast to slide freely thereon, means for holding the member in adjusted 'position upon the mast, upper and lower parallel annular lianges upon said member, said lower flange being of greater width than the upper flange and adapted to engage beneath and form a support for radial arms, said upper lange b eing adapted to engage over the ends of said arms, and radial arms loosely engaged at one end between said flanges and extending radially from the mast.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a vertical supporting mast, carrying means sleeved upon the mast to slide thereon, means engaging the mast for holding said carrying means in adjusted position upon the mast, two separate series of radially extending arms, and means adjacent the upper and lower ends of said carrying means for loosely engaging said arms, said means comprising outwardly extending parallel annular flanges, the lower flange of each pair being of greater width than the upper iiange to form a support for said arms at a distance Jtrom their ends and said upper flange engaging the upper sides oi said arms near their ends, the weight of the projecting outer portions of said arms serving to hold the arms engaged with said flanges.

In an apparatus oit the character described, the combination of a vertical supporting mast, a pair of sleeves slidable upon the mast and held in spaced relation, two series of radially extending arms, spaced parallel radially extending flanges on each ot the sleeves between which the inner ends of said arms are loosely engaged, a series of rods detachably connected to the arms intermediate their ends at one end and formed with hooks at their opposite end to detachably connect said ends to said sleeves, and means carried by the mast for holding the sleeves in adjusted position upon the mast.

l. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a supporting mastv` a hopper adapted to be mounted upon the topv of parallel mold walls to travel thereon as a double track with the discharge end of the hopper between said walls, and rigid means rotatable about the mast and connected to said hopper and mast for guiding said hopper in its travel upon the upper end of said mold walls.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a supporting mast, a 'scaffold carried by said mast, a hop'- per adapted to be supported upon the top oi: parallel mold walls to travel thereon as tracks with the discharge end of the hopper between the walls, and guiding means connected to the hopper at one end and to the mast at its opposite end to rotate thereon.

6. In an apparatus ot' the character demast, a hopper, a carrying Jframe Jfor supporting the hopper above the space between said walls, a pair ot rollers on the frame for spanning the space and running upon the upper ends ot mold walls, a circular scribed, the combination of a supporting f rwith mold walls, guiding means connecting the hopper and mast and rotatable about the axis of the mast an arm rotatable about the mast and extending outwardly therefrom over the mold walls, a bucket carried by said arm, and means on said bucket for engaging said hopper.

8. In an apparatus of the character 4described, the combination of a hopper frame adapted to engage and travel of circular mold walls, a hopper carried by said yframe with its lower end adaptedl to extend into the space between mold walls,

upon the top a hinged bottom for said hopper, means for opening andy closing said bottom, a 'bail' Carried bythe hopper, a supportingrrmast, guiding means rotatable upon the mast and rigidly connected to said hopper frame,'sup

porting means carried by the mast and eX-v` tending radially therefromover the hopper, and a pivotally supported bucket carried said supporting means and,l having a hook to enga-ge the bail and hopper. A i Intestimony whereof I laHX my signature in the presence or' two Witnesses.

HENRY G.JSELLMAN. Witnesses: f y

LEWIS E. FLANDERS, CHAS. W. SLnAUFrIGnR.l 

